The Month of Fasting, Among Other Things (part 2)

Ramadan has also unfortunately become the month of neverending T.V. series for as long as I can remember. In recent years however, T.V. in Ramadan has been a continuous flow of commercials with some shows dispersed here and there. You end up watching so many commercials, over and over again that you become more familiar with them than with some members of your family.
I'm not going to talk about T.V. shows or series because I've avoided following any of them for quite a few years now but rather some T.V. ads that always strike me as odd whenever I venture to sit down in front of the television with a cup of coffee.

1- The series of commercials produced by The general union for NGO's ( el ete7ad el 3am lel gam3eyat el ahleya*- E7sebha sa7, te3esha sa7). Apparently, they're trying to teach the people of Egypt how to manage their budget properly. It's not the fact that the prices for bare essentials have doubled and tripled over the last few months that are making life difficult for people in Egypt. Oh my, no! It's because people are frivolous and wasteful. While the latter may be true for some portion of the population, producing a series of commercials reminding people how much easier their lives would be if they would be just a little more careful with those water faucets and cigarettes is not only equally frivolous and wasteful, but also moronic and aggravating.

2-A commercial for a~ particular~ brand of frozen vegetables(that shall remain anonymous), where a bunch of chefs decide to having a poolside cooking party. What an absolutely brilliant idea!
I know that whenever I decide to cook, I always to do it best by the pool while doing a little dance and gently caressing some artichokes, if ya know what I mean! *winkwink-nudgenudge*
Heck, I don't even know what I mean...

3- A commercial for that ~ particular~ brand of underwear(that shall remain anonymous), where we observe the trials and tribulations of a young man who doesn't have the best taste in wifebeaters/A-shirts/undershirts (el fanelat el dakhelya ya3ni). We watch with aching hearts the mess his life has become until we collectively rejoice upon his discovery of this ~particular~ brand ( that shall remain anonymous) and how the right fanela dakhelya can make you a star among your peers. It also appears to be the key to success in attracting women and eventually making a marriage work. These are pearls of wisdom, people! Pearls, I tell you!

4- Finally, I hope that Sameh chokes on those Goddamn chips of his.

There are probably a shitload of others that are also likely to make my brain hurt but those are the the ones that have left a stain on my soul, so far.

*at least I think that's the correct translation

Listening to : Goldfrapp - You never know

The month of fasting, among other things (part I)

Why is it that during Ramadan driving through the streets is the akin to playing bumper cars with a group of Attention deficit children?

Egyptians are generally known for their impeccable ability to avoid maintaining any lanes what so ever but in Ramadan , they're practically gliding across the street from one side to another, with their eyes half-closed and their mouths half-open more often than not. The traffic jams are phenomenal displays of what a combination of low blood sugar, not enough sleep and preexisting road rage can do to the normally docile Egyptian citizen.

Okay, I totally made that last part up.

It's always fun to hear people curse their heads off while driving, insulting you, your mother, your father and every other relative they can fit into a single sentence. Especially since it's usually followed up by the ubiquitous " Allahoma iny sayem!" or "God, I'm fasting!".

You see, that's enough to fill the world with scented roses and sunshine until the next driver cuts you off.

I'm glad I don't drive but I still get the need to jump out of the car and proceed to throttle some drivers while riding in the passenger seat. Fortunately, that plan never comes to fruition because I'm usually too busy yawning and dreaming of caffeine just like most people on the road.